Page 21 of Talon
Talon didn’t know and right now he wasn’t ready to look too closely at it.There were other things they needed to talk about.But not until she had something in her stomach.He could take care of her that much, at least.
16
Madisondidn’tbelievethepeaceful feeling since she’d come home could last.Not when they still needed to talk about what Talon had found while researching Billy.She hoped it would go well.But something in the back of her head, maybe a memory of something she’d overheard but didn’t register, told her there was something that wasn’t right.
When she finished eating, she set her plate on the coffee table and picked up her beer.When she finished this, she’d take the bottle and her plate into the kitchen and take care of the dishes.It occurred to her that she was avoiding the talk she knew was coming.Did it matter?She wasn’t foolish enough to think it would keep the talk from happening.
No, it needed to happen.She needed to know what he’d found, even if the thought of it set her nerves on edge.
Before she’d finished her beer, Talon stood, picked up her plate and carried them both into the kitchen.
“I was going to take that,” she called after him.“I was just finishing my beer first.”
“You’ve been working all day.I’ve got it.”The sounds coming from the next room told her that not only had he taken the dishes in the other room for her, he was in the process of putting the food away.Pushing herself to her feet, she went to go help.
“You cooked.I was going to clean up,” Madison said, going to the sink and turning on the water.
There weren’t many dishes there.He must have been taking care of them as he cooked.She wasn’t sure why, but that impressed her.Was it because it was a habit of someone who routinely cleaned up after themselves or was it something else?Not that it mattered, at least not now, but still.
She loaded the few dishes that were there into the dishwasher, taking care of the pans as he emptied them and stored the leftovers.By the time she added soap to the dishwasher and started it, he’d already grabbed a cloth and wiped down all the counters.She glanced around, looking for anything that needed to get done, but found nothing.
“Need another beer before we go sit down?”Talon asked.
She stood for a second, her eyes not focused as she blinked a couple of times before answering.“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”She knew the talk was coming and she only had a few sips left in the one still sitting beside her seat on the couch.He pulled two more from the fridge and tilted the top of his head toward the living room.
With a deep breath, she exhaled slowly as she made her way into the living room.It was time.There was nothing left to use to delay it.Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as her gut said it would be.Maybe she was over thinking this.
She sat, picked up the bottle she’d left when she went to help with the dishes and drained it.
“Ok, tell me what you found.”She didn’t want to do this, but she might as well get it over with.Then she could stop dreading it.
“Let me ask you a few questions first.Then I’ll tell you what I found.”
She frowned, not sure why he thought this would be the best approach, but willing to go along just to get it over with.
“All right.”
“You said he was your dad’s best friend.How long have you known him?”
She thought about that.It seemed like he’d always been around.But had he really?What was her first memory of Billy?“Off the top of my head I would say always.But the more I think about it, I can’t place him in a memory before I was eleven or twelve.”
“So that was what?Ten years ago?”
“Somewhere between thirteen and fourteen years ago.Why?Is there something odd?”She turned and watched him, trying to see if she could tell if he was keeping something from her.
He wiggled the top of his head back and forth, as if he was debating how to answer that in his head.
“I don’t know if odd is the right word, but let’s keep going.Did you ever hear him talk about being married or refer to a wife?”
Madison tipped her head back and rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling as she tried to mentally review every conversation she could remember her dad and Billy having.
“Not that I can recall.That doesn’t mean I never heard it.But if I did, it didn’t register.”
“That’s okay.And your dad passed away almost two years ago, right?”
Madison nodded.She had been avoiding thinking about the anniversary of his death and how quickly it was approaching.Her chest ached at the reminder.She resisted the urge to rub at her breastbone.It wouldn’t do any good anyway.It was more of a mental pain than a physical one.
“Here.”Talon held out one hand and curled his fingers in a ‘give me’ motion.
